Room and Board

I have been asked to share a bit about our accommodations and food in Bolivia. During the first leg of the trip we stayed outside Cochabamba at a retreat center called Fe y Alegria. The cabins were set up in a circle with a big courtyard in the middle. Each room had a bathroom and slept three people. There were five rooms per cabin with a living space in the middle.

We all ate in a common dining hall and found that Bolivian food is good. They eat pretty heavy foods here because it takes a lot of energy to live in this altitude. There is a lot of bread, meat and potatoes. Almost everything we have eaten has been familiar food but sometimes it is cooked a bit different or served in a different way. For example, one day our dessert was a boiled peach in a syrup made from corn starch. They have a lot of fresh fruit available as well. At both places our cooks have been amazing! There is always plenty to eat!

This is our bedroom, there is a bed you can't see!
This is the courtyard in the middle of the cabins

On Saturday Evening we moved over to stay at the Institute Americana which is set up more like a dorm. My room sleeps five but we have four in here. There is one bathroom for the girls and one for the guys. The showers are interesting because the water is heated by electric heaters. We don't have the problem of running out of hot water like you do with tanks, but we do have inconsistent electrical currents. It wouldn't be a mission trip without a few cold showers!

This is where the magic happens.
Delia is in the middle, she is the fabulous cook.

This is one of the dorm rooms.

This is where we are eating at the institute. It is very familial!

The hospitality here has been unreal! I have been on many mission trips and have never experienced this level of sincere hospitality. The most beautiful thing about it is that I can tell it doesn't have much to do with the fact that we are here on a "mission" but simply how they welcome the stranger. What a beautiful expression of Christ's welcome to all.